NFL Football - Week Two Review

What a weekend of football it was as the Manning Bowl, the battle in the NFC West and several exciting  finishes punctuated the second week of the 2013 NFL season.

The Denver Broncos dominated the second half of the game against the host New York Giants in a 41-23 win that saw Peyton Manning throw for 307 yards and two touchdown passes while the special teams scored a touchdown (Trindon Holliday 81-yard punt return) and the defense intercepted Giants' QB Eli Manning four times in the third "Manning Bowl." The Giants are 0-2 while Denver improved to 2-0 this season.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers dominated the win over Redskins

Green Bay rolled past the visiting Washington Redskins, 38-20 behind 480 passing yards and four touchdown strikes from Aaron Rodgers, the Heftyinfo NFL co-Player of the Week. Redskins QB Robert Griffin III had 320 yards with three TD and one interception in the loss as the Washington defense allowed 580 yards.

Philip Rivers had a huge game in win

The San Diego Chargers went into Philadelphia and stunned the Eagles, 33-30 as kicker Nick Novak drilled a 48-yard field goal to provide the difference. Chargers QB Philip Rivers, Heftyinfo NFL co-Player of the Week, passed for 419 yards and three touchdowns (all to wide receiver Eddie Royal) to offset Michael Vick's effort (428 passing yards and a rushing touchdown) as the 'Bolts totaled 539 yards in offense.





The Chicago Bears pulled off a late comeback as QB Jay Cutler hit tight end Martellus Bennett for a 16-yard touchdown pass with ten seconds left in the game to win, 31-30. The Bears rolled up 411 total yards in offense and kick returner Devin Hester accounted for 249 kickoff return yards.
Houston won in overtime 30-24 at home against the Tennessee Titans behind a balanced offense (172 rushing yards and 280 passing) and a game winning three-yard TD pass from QB Matt Schaub to rookie WR DeAndre Hopkins.
The Seattle Seahawks rode out the (lightning) storm and dominated the visiting San Francisco 49ers, 29-3 in the Sunday Night Football game. The Seattle defense limited the 49ers to 207 yards in offense and Marshawn Lynch (98 yards rushing) scored three touchdowns, including a seven-yard scoring pass from QB Russell Wilson.


Other highlights from around the league . . . 

The Atlanta Falcons held on for a 31-24 home win against the St. Louis Rams behind a pair of TD passes from Matt Ryan (374 passing yards) and a 68-yard interception return for score by Osi Umenyiora. St. Louis QB Sam Bradford had 352 passing yards and three touchdown passes in the loss . . .  Rashard Mendenhall scored on a one-yard run at the two-minute warning to provide the difference in a 25-21 home win for the Arizona Cardinals over the Detroit Lions . . . The Kansas City Chiefs edged the visiting Dallas Cowboys, 17-16 behind two TD passes by QB Alex Smith . . .  Buffalo won their home game late against Carolina, 24-23 as QB E.J. Manuel threw a two-yard scoring pass to Stevie Johnson with two seconds remaining. Bills defensive end/linebacker Mario Williams had 4 1/2 QB sacks in the win . . . The Baltimore Ravens won their home opener to improve to 1-1 with a 14-6 yawner over the Cleveland Browns as the defense sacked Browns QB Brandon Weeden five times . . . New Orleans got a game winning 27-yard field goal from Garrett Hartley as time expired to win at Tampa Bay, 16-14 . . . The Oakland Raiders beat the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars, 19-9 as their defense limited the Jags to 248 total yards while kicker Sebastian Janikowski made four field goals . . .  The New England Patriots won an ugly game last Thursday night, 13-10 against the visiting New York Jets as Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass and the Pats defense intercepted Jets rookie QB Geno Smith three times . . .  The Monday Night Football game saw the host Cincinnati Bengals top the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-10 behind solid defense (limiting the Steelers to just 44 rushing yards and 278 in total offense) and two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) from rookie running back Giovani Bernard.